LESSON 46

God is the Love in which I forgive.

1 God does not
forgive because He has never condemned. And there must be
condemnation before forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is the
great need of this world, but that is because it is a world of
illusions. Those who forgive are thus releasing themselves from
illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding
themselves to them. As you condemn only yourself, so do you forgive
only yourself.

2 Yet although
God does not forgive, His Love is nevertheless the basis of
forgiveness. Fear condemns and love forgives. Forgiveness thus undoes
what fear has produced, returning the mind to the awareness of God.
For this reason, forgiveness can truly be called salvation. It is the
means by which illusions disappear.

3 Today's
exercises require at least three full five-minute practice periods,
and as many shorter ones as possible. Begin the longer practice
periods by repeating today's idea to yourself, as usual. Close
your eyes as you do so, and spend a minute or two in searching your
mind for those whom you have not forgiven. It does not matter
"how much" you have not forgiven them. You have forgiven
them entirely or not at all.

4 If you are
doing the exercises well you should have no difficulty in finding a
number of people you have not forgiven. It is a safe rule that anyone
you do not like is a suitable subject. Mention each one by name, and
say:

God is the Love in which I forgive you,
[name].

5 The purpose
of the first phase of today's practice periods is to put you in a
position to forgive yourself. After you have applied the idea to all
those who have come to mind, tell yourself:

God is the Love in which I forgive myself.

Then devote the remainder of the
practice period to adding related ideas such as:

God is the Love with which I love myself.
God is the Love in which I am blessed.

6 The form of
the application may vary considerably, but the central idea should
not be lost sight of. You might say, for example:

I cannot be guilty because I am a Son of
God.
I have already been forgiven.
No fear is possible in a mind beloved of God.
There is no need to attack because love has forgiven me.

The practice period should end,
however, with a repetition of today's idea as originally
stated.

7 The shorter
practice periods may consist either of a repetition of the idea for
today in the original or in a related form, as you prefer. Be sure,
however, to make more specific applications if they are needed. They
will be needed at any time during the day when you become aware of
any kind of negative reaction to anyone, present or not. In that
event, tell him silently: